Hymn to the Maruts
Rigveda I.168 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to the Maruts, the storm-troop of heaven, sons of Rudra, who ride the winds and shake the earth. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Hail to the Maruts, the storm-riders swift and terrible,
Whose chariots of wind do race 'cross the sky on wheels of fire,
Whose journey through the cosmic spaces none can measure nor contain.
The Maruts do harness the very winds unto their service,
They do yoke the lightning unto their flying steeds,
And the clouds do part before them like the waters parting 'fore a ship,
As they charge forth upon their chariots bright and blazing.
What marvels are these chariots! What wonders doth their craftsmen fashion!
The wheels do turn with the speed of thought itself, moving fleet and swift,
The axles do burn with sacred fire that consumeth all impurity,
And the poles do shake the very heavens with their weight and majesty.
The Maruts do sit upon their seats of gold and adamant,
Their hands do grip the reins of wind with strength that none could overcome,
Their eyes do see the paths invisible that stretch 'cross all the cosmos,
And their voices do cry out in joy as they do race along.
What sound do these chariots make! What music fills the air!
'Tis like the roar of lions mingled with the song of eagles,
'Tis like the crash of cymbals mixed with the voice of ancient thunder,
'Tis a symphony of power that doth make the very heart to quicken.
The Maruts' chariots do carry blessings unto all the lands,
The rain doth fall where they do pass, the crops do grow and flourish,
The animals do find their pasture, the birds do sing their songs,
And all the world doth celebrate the coming of the storm-gods.
Yet also do the Maruts' chariots carry warning dire,
For when they ride in anger, destruction followeth in their wake,
The trees do bend and break like reeds, the houses do fall crashing down,
And the mortal beings do flee for shelter 'neath the earth.
Still we do sing their praises, for the Maruts are the guardians,
They are the protectors of the cosmic order sacred,
They do ride their chariots that all the worlds may thrive,
They do race 'cross heaven's expanse that justice may prevail.
So hail to the Maruts and their chariots of wind and fire!
May they ever ride with purpose noble, with hearts that beat for good,
May their journey through the cosmos ever be a blessing unto all,
And may we mortals ever honor these swift and terrible gods.
Colophon
Rigveda I.168 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses the Maruts, the storm-troop of heaven, sons of Rudra, who ride the winds and shake the earth. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.168
yajñā-yajñā vaḥ samanā tuturvaṇir dhiyaṁ-dhiyaṁ vo devayā u dadhidhve |
ā vo 'rvācaḥ suvitāya rodasyor mahe vavṛtyām avase suvṛktibhiḥ || 1 ||
vavrāso na ye svajāḥ svatavasa iṣaṁ svar abhijāyanta dhūtayaḥ |
sahasriyāso apāṁ normaya āsā gāvo vandyāso nokṣaṇaḥ || 2 ||
somāso na ye sutās tṛptāṁśavo hṛtsu pītāso duvaso nāsate |
aiṣām aṁseṣu rambhiṇīva rārabhe hasteṣu khādiś ca kṛtiś ca saṁ dadhe || 3 ||
ava svayuktā diva ā vṛthā yayur amartyāḥ kaśayā codata tmanā |
areṇavas tuvijātā acucyavur dṛḻhāni cin maruto bhrājadṛṣṭayaḥ || 4 ||
ko vo 'ntar maruta ṛṣṭividyuto rejati tmanā hanveva jihvayā |
dhanvacyuta iṣāṁ na yāmani purupraiṣā ahanyo3 naitaśaḥ || 5 ||
kva svid asya rajaso mahas paraṁ kvāvaram maruto yasminn āyaya |
yac cyāvayatha vithureva saṁhitaṁ vy adriṇā patatha tveṣam arṇavam || 6 ||
sātir na vo 'mavatī svarvatī tveṣā vipākā marutaḥ pipiṣvatī |
bhadrā vo rātiḥ pṛṇato na dakṣiṇā pṛthujrayī asuryeva jañjatī || 7 ||
prati ṣṭobhanti sindhavaḥ pavibhyo yad abhriyāṁ vācam udīrayanti |
ava smayanta vidyutaḥ pṛthivyāṁ yadī ghṛtam marutaḥ pruṣṇuvanti || 8 ||
asūta pṛśnir mahate raṇāya tveṣam ayāsām marutām anīkam |
te sapsarāso 'janayantābhvam ād it svadhām iṣirām pary apaśyan || 9 ||
eṣa vaḥ stomo maruta iyaṁ gīr māndāryasya mānyasya kāroḥ |
eṣā yāsīṣṭa tanve vayāṁ vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 10 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
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